City News In 250 Words: Friday 26 August

£2 MILLION worth of cocaine was discovered in a vegetable container flown to Manchester airport. A total of 65kg of the class A drug was hidden among 329 boxes of vegetables imported into the country from the Dominican Republic. Three men from Oldham were arrested on suspicion of importing drugs. They were released on bail pending further inquiries.

THE SECOND 24 hours of industrial action by First TransPennine Express (FTPE) staff planned for today has been suspended. Today’s strike was called off so fresh talks can be held between members of RMT and Aslef unions and FTPE directors. Members of the union voted to strike after rejecting 2.2 per cent pay increase. The first 24 hour strike was held on Wednesday.

MANCHESTER UNITED manager, Alex Ferguson, has agreed to end his boycott of speaking with BBC. Ferguson enforced a boycott against the broadcaster after it made allegations against his football agent son, Jason, in a 2004 Panorama TV documentary. Ferguson has been facing increasing fines under premier league rules for refusing to speak with the BBC.

GMP found two children alone in an unlocked car in Rusholme while their mother was in a bar until nearly 4am. Officers were alerted by a passer-by when two boys- one aged nearly three and the other just 8 months- were discovered. Officers rescued the boys and waited by the car for 40 minutes for mother Kayleigh McNaughton, 21, to emerge from a nearby bar. Magistrates sent the case to Manchester Crown court for sentencing.

This week in 1874: Manchester businessman Herbert Barge shot dead Alexander Maclean, and then himself at the Prince’s Club, Chapel Walks.